Not a word of a lie, my great uncle, who lived in Salford, gave up beer for Lent and only drank wine instead.

When we wuz lickle at school in Radcliffe, we vied with each other to get the biggest ash smear on the forehead. The trick was to jerk the head slightly just as the priest's thumb reached the head.

Feb 15 1961 was Ash Wednesday. As ever, we were marched off the half-mile to church that morning by our teachers. There was a partial solar eclipse that morning which I was desperate to see but the clouds covered the sun. By the time the service ended the sun was beaming out but the eclipse had finished. I have a feeling that I might have become a bitter, pre-pubescent proto-atheist that morning.